


Portal

by LenoraLana



Category: Planet of the Apes (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-09
Packaged: 2021-01-26 14:30:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21375640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LenoraLana/pseuds/LenoraLana
Summary: Just another work I started doing a long time ago. Just putting it here for nostalgia. Pete, Alan and Galen must discuss what to do about the upcoming Winter and how they will survive... and other stuff at least starts to happen.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

It was a typical, bright sunny day without a single trace of clouds in the sky. The blindingly bright, spherical yellow orb in the sky—better known as the sun—shone brightly, its intense light illuminating the face of the Earth, also serving as a painful reminder that it was going to be another hot day.

The two astronauts, Peter Burke and Alan Virdon, had first arrived in this new time era late in the Spring, and now it was approaching mid-Summer. The heat and humidity had reached its peak at times, to the point where the three travelers made it a point to keep containers of water with them at all times.

"You know," Pete said at one point, as they began to climb up yet another hill, "what exactly are we going to do when winter comes?"

Alan paused in his stride for a moment, glancing in his friend's direction. "I haven't thought much about that," he admitted.

"You haven't?" Galen spoke up from behind, squinting in the sunlight as he looked at his human companions. "Well surely it must have crossed your mind, at least! I mean, they do have winter where you come from, don't they?"

"Yeah, they do," Pete replied, then turned his attention back to Alan. "But what about it? When the temperatures drop below freezing and the snow starts to pile up, do you really expect us to keep going, hoping we can find somewhere safe to sleep or some cozy village to take us in, before we freeze to death?"

"Well we can always sleep in the snow, like the huskies do," Alan joked, flashing a smile to show that he was only kidding.

"Oh-ho, very funny," Pete said sarcastically.

"I am sure we will deal with that prospect when the time comes," Galen told them. By this point he had moved up closer to them, since the trio had stopped walking for the moment. It wasn't often for Galen to fall behind, since humans had longer legs than chimps. He wouldn't say it of course, but he did appreciate the pause in their hike. "In all honesty, I haven't thought much about that myself… although it's not like I've wanted to think about it either."

"There's another problem," Pete spoke up.

"What's that?" Alan asked, glancing in his friend's direction.

"Well, when all that snow starts to pile up on the ground, we're going to leave some very nice tracks for Urko and his fellow gorillas to follow," Pete replied. "And so that means if they ever get on our trail, even if we find some bushes to duck into or some rocks to hide behind…" He made a shrugging gesture. "The snow can simply point toward us and say, 'Hey, here's who you're looking for, nyah, nyah.'"

"Oh yes, that is definitely a problem," Galen said, wanting to kick himself for not even thinking of that on his own. "Oh dear," he said, shaking his and tossing his fur slightly as he did so, "just what are we going to do when the snow begins to collect on the ground?"

"I don't know," Alan said with a sigh. He subconsciously reached into his pocket, where the magnetic disk was. As he fingered it he thought once again of his family. He just had to get back to them someday, no matter how long it took. He wasn't going to let anything take that hope away from him. Apes with guns hadn't stopped him, threats on his life and even a few near-death experiences hadn't stopped him, and so why should he let snow stop him, when it came?

"Well at least we won't have to worry about that for a while, I hope," Pete said, wiping some of sweat off his forehead with his sleeve. "Though right now I wouldn't mind some cooler weather… or at least a pair of shades."

"Shades?" Galen asked, peering at his dark-haired friend.

"Sunglasses," Pete clarified, although the puzzled look on the ape's face remained. "You know, they're like normal glasses, only they have dark lenses."

"Oh," Galen said, nodding as comprehension dawned. "I see what you mean, although we apes call them dark glasses. I would try and get you both a pair, but humans aren't allowed to wear them."

"What about regular glasses?" Alan asked curiously. By this point they had all resumed walking again, taking it slowly and carefully up the hillside, talking as they went. "If a human's eyesight is going back, can they get outfitted with a pair?"

"No," Galen said, shaking his head. "Usually not, although depending on the value of the human, sometimes their masters may make an exception."

"Terrific," Pete muttered sarcastically.

After a little while their conversation died down, especially as the hillside steepened to the point where they had to concentrate more on climbing and crawling, and thus they saved their breath for that. Some areas on this particular hillside were steeper than others, which Galen could climb and maneuver more easily than his human companions. There were some spots where the chimp assisted his friends, climbing up ahead of them and lending a hand to pull them up.

By the time they reached the top of this particular hill it was mid-afternoon and they were quite famished, not to mention almost out of water. As luck would have it though, they came across a stream that flowed with clear, clean water, and there were a few berry bushes nearby.

"Here's another thing," Pete said, indicating the bright red berries as he popped some into his mouth. "When winter comes, we're not going to have the luxury of finding wild fruits and veggies out here for the taking."

"But we'll be surrounded by snow all the time, that means plenty of water to eat," Alan quipped.

"Yeah, we can gorge ourselves on frozen water, nice," Pete said, then ate another handful of berries.

"Perhaps we could find a village to stay at until the winter months are over," Galen suggested, almost hopefully. He glanced down thoughtfully at the berries in his own hand. "Or perhaps we could at least stay at some villages for a longer period of time."

"Plus what if Urko and his men arrive at some village where we were at, find out we were there, and then follow our tracks in the snow right to us?" Pete demanded. "There is no doubt about it… if we keep traveling like this; we're going to have to think things over carefully in the winter."

"Well, until the time comes when we need to worry about it, let's just press on shall we?" Alan said, having finished his lunch and was now turning to refill their water containers in the stream. "Otherwise, by the time we do get moving, it will be winter."

While Virdon walked over to the stream and then stooped to fill up the containers, Pete clicked his tongue and then turned to Galen. "I hope I haven't just convinced him to quicken our pace, thanks to my bringing up winter," he muttered.

"I think we needed to discuss that sooner or later," Galen told him. "It's better to think about these things now than wait until the very last minute, when it might be too late."

"Well maybe if we're lucky, we will have found a computer or whatever by then," Pete murmured, grabbing another handful of berries. "Or maybe Alan will have given up this mad quest of his by then." He sighed, shaking his head a little. "Sometimes I wonder why we bother. But… then again, I don't have any ties back home. Pete does."

Anything Galen may have said was not spoken aloud, for at that moment Alan returned with three filled water containers. Alan handed one to Pete and one to Galen, then the three of them set off once again.

In many ways, Galen knew that there were a lot of "what ifs" that could be considered… each of which was answered almost immediately by another part of his brain:

What if the human astronauts had never landed, or never been thrown forward in time at all? Simple: Galen would have probably gotten a—to borrow a term Pete used, "cushy job", and would probably still be living in a very nice house right now. But he would also still be ignorant about the true nature of humans, and the truth about the past.

In many ways, Galen had learned things he never could have possibly learned if he hadn't gotten curious and started talking to these two men. He would probably be a lot more comfortable, still living in a cozy home and not being a wanted fugitive. But he would still have been living like a typical ape, ignorant to the fact that humans are intelligent creatures, too.

At times he wondered what would happen if his friends ever found their computer, and found a way to get back to their home. In some ways, his options didn't look too good… he could either go with them if he could—to a world where apes were kept in cages and were considered animals, or he could watch his friends go, and he would be alone… still a fugitive, and one of the only apes in the world who knew the truth about humans.

He then decided to push that thought out of his mind. It was much like the coming of winter, really; it would have to be dealt with someday, but not right at this moment. For now he would continue along with his friends, and focus on the present rather than the future.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"Close the door!"

Urko's eyes widened, staring at Zaius with mild shock and concern. The orangutan leader had spoken with an urgency that Urko had never seen from the ape leader before.

"Close the door, I say!" Zaius practically bellowed.

"All right," Urko said quickly, shoving aside his shock to turn and close the door, locking it without even having to be told. Then he took off his helmet and turned back toward his superior. "Now, why have you summoned me here so quickly?" the gorilla asked, wary and concerned, not to mention curious.

"Because a discovery has been made in one of the city ruins near here," Zaius told him. "Something that could possibly destroy the world as we know it, if it is not taken care of right now."

Urko tensed and then narrowed his eyes skeptically. "What do you mean it might destroy the world?" he asked.

"We believe that a time-portal has been found," Zaius said, his eyes wide and his hands shaking a bit. "It has the ability to open a doorway into the past."

If it were not for the fact that Zaius looked more stunned and frightened than Urko had ever seen the ape in his life, the military general may have laughed in his face. Instead, Urko simply cocked his head to one side, his eyes widening with disbelief. "A time portal? Say that again?"

"We found an ancient device that opens a doorway into the past," Zaius said, his entire form trembling slightly. Urko took a step forward, noticing the paleness of the orangutan's face; the gorilla was ready in case his leader fainted or began to fall.

"That's impossible!" Urko said, shaking his head. "Not only is it not possible, it's preposterous!"

"NO!" Zaius said with such force that actually caused Urko to flinch. "I saw it for myself! First we sent a scout through the doorway once the portal was activated, then I went through myself. We saw evidence of a society governed by humans!"

"That is impossible!"

"DON'T tell me what is impossible, Urko! I saw it with my own eyes. It exists on the other side of that portal we found, and those humans we saw are probably a lot like Virdon and Burke!"

"Then we should destroy them all!" Urko exclaimed, putting his helmet back on his head.

"No, not there! There are too many humans," Zaius said.

"You really think the humans, even ones on the other side of a portal, would be any match for us?"

"Urko you're not listening to me! They were in the past, perhaps from the very time period that Virdon and Burke are from. Attacking would do no good—we must destroy the portal."

"I will do so at once," Urko vowed.

"No, wait," Zaius said, pressing his hands together. Whether it was a thoughtful gesture or an attempt to stop them from shaking, Urko wasn't sure. But the ape leader seemed to be getting ahold of himself, at least somewhat. "If we could capture one of the humans from that time-period, before we destroy the portal, then we could learn something."

Urko couldn't stop himself from groaning. It always had to come back to that. When they could simply destroy the threat once and for all, Zaius always had to insist on doing something to learn more, when all of this could have been prevented by simply killing Virdon and Burke at first sight, when they first encountered them, and more danger could be prevented right now by simply destroying the portal. But no, apparently Zaius had to do things the hard way, always.

The two apes then got into one of their standard arguments, where Urko discussed as reasonably as he could just why it would be prudent to destroy the portal. "Why bring more humans who could infect the other humans?" the gorilla demanded. "It could just make the problem worse than it was before!"

"No it won't," Zaius said. "Think about it this way. If we can get one of the humans—preferably a female, one who won't be so resistant toward us—then we could learn all we need to know about what makes those humans different, without having to capture Burke and Virdon. I could simply give the order to shoot them on sight, once we have a human we could use instead."

Urko found himself liking that idea. "And the time portal?" he asked.

"It will be thoroughly destroyed, once we have a human female from the other side," Zaius said. He had stopped trembling, although he still looked nervous and pale.

Urko smiled slowly, giving an approving nod. "Good," he said.


	2. Chapter 2

The journey to the old city ruins took the better part of a day, even riding on horses that were going full speed. Zaius, Urko, and some of the military general's gorillas arrived sometime after the sun had set. The entire city was dark by that time, and everyone was tired, but Zaius refused to rest.

"I am going through the portal right now," the orangutan said as he dismounted. He gestured for one of the gorillas to come forward. "Tend to the horses, and keep an eye on this area," Zaius told the one he'd beckoned. "Urko, myself, and someone of Urko's choosing will go through the… device."

Urko grunted slightly, then pointed at one of his men. "You," he said to one of his lieutenants, "you will accompany us, Walgo."

Walgo nodded, although even in the darkness the expression on his face was evident; apparently he wasn't sure if he should consider himself fortunate not to be left caring for horses and acting as a lookout, or unfortunate that he was about to plunge into the unknown.

Zaius had decided early on that he would personally go along on this journey, in order to make sure that everything went smoothly. He felt that Urko was a very good military general, but at the same time he didn't trust the gorilla. It would be very easy for an "accident" to occur before the time portal could be used, or for an "accident" to happen to their captive on the way back after they had captured one. By being present, Zaius could keep a close eye on everything.

Once everyone had dismounted and the other apes were either standing watch or tending to the horses, Zaius, Urko and Walgo slowly made their way across the rough ground, taking care to avoid tripping over rocks.

Eventually they came to an old building that was considerably large, and on the outside it actually looked to be in fairly decent shape. Inside though was another matter, where some pillars had been cracked or had fallen, plus areas of the ceiling had caved in.

But there was one area in particular that drew the three ape's interest. There was what appeared to be an opened door which, judging by the rocks and debris that was strewn about, had recently been uncovered, much like the vault with the talking human made of light that had been discovered in another city. Inside this chamber there was what appeared to be some sort of long, wide doorway, with lines hooked up to it—lines that disappeared through the wall behind it.

"How was this found?" Urko asked, never taking his eyes off of the strange device.

"Ever since those astronauts found that machine in that one city, we have been trying to go more thorough searches to weed out any more such machines that might exist," Zaius answered as he slowly moved toward the portal. "We want to find any such things that might still exist and destroy them."

"As you probably should have destroyed this," Urko muttered.

Walgo remained silent, although he was alert and listening to everything that was said. He was the type who spoke up if he had something pressing to say, but most of the time he stayed quiet and remained ready to receive orders.

"Yes so you've said," Zaius acknowledged with mild annoyance. "But you already know we are going to, after we get a human from that earlier time-period."

Urko grunted softly, then gestured Walgo to move forward. With that, the three of them cautiously entered the chamber, standing just in front of the portal.

"How does it… work?" Walgo asked, mustering up the courage to speak.

"By touching this panel over here," Zaius said, pointing to a square-shaped panel on the left wall. He tapped a couple of colorful, moving squares on it, then the portal began to hum loudly and glow. All three apes started a bit as it seemed to come to life, its center beginning to light up with a magnificent, white aura.

The orangutan, having seen it before, recovered the quickest. "Let's go!" he shouted, the firmness of his voice snapping the other two of their shock. Then, as Zaius moved forward, the others following him. Moments later, the trio disappeared through the portal, going into the unknown… literally.

They found themselves standing out along the side of what appeared to be a road, although instead of being a simple dirt road it seemed to be coated with… stone? Or some kind of hard substance that looked something like stone.

It was broad daylight here, definitely a contrast to the darkness that the trio had previously been standing in. There were also huge wooden poles along each side of the road, and they had several lines going between them, and attached to them. The ground was green and grassy all around, and there were plenty of trees around.

"It looks just like our time… except for the way the road looks, and those odd poles with the dark ropes going between them," Urko observed quietly.

"We must be out in the country somewhere, away from the city areas," Zaius said. "Our scouts reported some… strange sightings out here."

Then, in unison, the three apes turned to look behind them, wanting to make certain that their passage home would be secure. Indeed there was still a bright light there, floating in the middle of the air and large enough for them to walk through.

"We have a few hours before the power runs down," Zaius informed his comrades. "We have to get back before then, or there is no guarantee we will be able to get back."

"How do you know this?" Walgo asked curiously.

"Because we tested it," Zaius replied. "Apparently the energy source that powers this time portal lasts for a few hours, then it shuts down and recharges itself."

Any further conversation was interrupted when they heard a noise that sounded like a strong wind approaching, which actually turned out to be a large, silver-colored object. All three of the apes tensed as it approached them and hastily backed away from the road. However, the object in question rushed by them in an unbelievable speed, faster than even the fastest horse could.

"W-what was that?" Urko demanded, holding his rifle tightly in his clutches as he stared off in the direction that the thing had gone.

"Whatever it was, it was big and fast!" Walgo exclaimed.

"Yes," Zaius murmured with a nod, looking in the same direction that the thing had gone. "I've read about such things, and our scouts reported something similar. I believe it would be best to try and stay off of the main road."

"What sort of sorcery was that, anyway?" Urko asked, as the three of them began to make their way along the side of the road, keeping a general lookout as they moved.

"I believe it was a machine… some form of advanced wagon," Zaius replied, moving at a steady pace. "I've seen books about such things. Apparently there was some sort of wagon that could move at high speeds, without having to be pulled by a horse."

"That is ridiculous," Urko scoffed. "Not to mention impossible." He double-checked his rifle to make certain it was fully loaded, although he refrained from cocking it. He didn't want it to go off accidentally; that would just draw attention to themselves.

"No," Zaius answered, shaking his head slightly. "Not impossible." He trailed off, not saying anyone on the subject. Behind him the two gorillas exchanged brief glances, but said nothing.

The three of them continued on for quite some time, and kept on going even as the bright white orb that would get them back home faded from sight as they moved out of visual range and went around a bend in the road. During that time, at least a dozen more of the advanced "wagons" rushed by, although eventually one that was colored bright red actually came to a stop near them.

The three apes tensed, unsure what to expect. This was, after all, the first time one of the fast-moving machines actually stopped, apparently having seen them. They assumed that the others had simply rushed on by either because they were going too fast to spot them, or they were just ignoring the three apes. But in either case, this one apparently noticed them, and decided to pay attention to what it had noticed. Urko cocked his rifle, prepared for anything. Zaius gestured him to remain still.

A pane of glass slowly lowered itself down into the space below, vanishing from sight and allowing a lone human occupant to lean out through the space. He had blond-colored hair, blue eyes, and he seemed to be wearing a sleeveless blue shirt. He stuck his head out through the space where the glass had been a moment ago, leaning his arm against the bottom of the space.

"Hey there," the human said in a friendly tone. "Heh, I know it's already October, but isn't it a little early for Halloween?"

"Hal-Oh-Wean?" Zaius asked, then made a cautious gesture for Urko to stand back, and not to do anything. The orangutan then took a cautious step toward the car. Thankfully it was now parked close to the side of the road that they were on, so he didn't have to move out into the road at all to get a better look. "What do you mean?"

The human laughed. "You know, Halloween." When Zaius simply blinked at him, the human frowned slightly. "You know, the big dress up day when people put on costumes, like the ones you're wearing, and go to parties or go trick-or-treating."

Urko almost wanted to ask what trick-or-treating was, but kept silent. He also gestured slightly toward Walgo to keep silent as well. The last thing they needed was to create some kind of scene or confusion. Urko figured that this human was an animal, just as stupid any as other human he'd seen, yet different somehow. But they were in great danger just by being in this timeframe where humans had things of great destruction at their fingertips, so they had to be quiet and play along.

"Oh yes," Zaius was saying, putting on what he hoped was a convincing sincerity. "It's just been a long day and we have been walking for a long time now."

"Ah, did your car break down?" the human asked.

"Yes," Zaius said, not quite sure what a "car" was, but choosing to play along.

"Well, since I'm a sucker for hard luck cases, and I really like your costumes…" The blond human shrugged. "Climb in, just be careful where you're waving that gun around… if it's real."

Walgo and Urko looked toward Zaius uncertainly, who nodded. With that, the three apes slowly moved toward the car.

"You sure this is wise?" Urko asked softly.

"Hey don't worry, I won't do anything to hurt you guys," the blond human said. He withdrew his arm and head back into the car, then the glass pane moved back upward into place.

It took the three apes a few moments to figure out just how to get inside the car, until they discovered that pulling up on the metallic handles opened what were apparently doors. The human male shook his head, making some comment that sounded like, "Man you guys must really be out of it." Finally, the three apes were seated inside the car, with the two gorillas in the back seat and Zaius in the front, beside the human.

"Alrighty then," the human said, turning something beside what appeared to be a wheel. A noise came from the front of the car, causing the apes to start a little. They were a bit uncomfortable being inside a closed space, especially inside this strange machine, with a strange human.

"Man you guys are jumpy!" the human commented, giving Zaius a sideways glance. "What's with you guys anyway?"

"Long day, like I said," Zaius replied simply.

The human gave him a long look, then shrugged a little. "Whatever, but there seems to be something off about you guys, though I don't know what it is. By the way," he added, "my name is Mike. What're your names?"

"I'm Zaius, and these are my comrades, Urko and Walgo."

"Huh, odd names, but whatever. I'm cool with that. Are you guys from another country or something?"

"Yes, you could say that," Zaius replied.

Mike maneuvered the car away from the side of the road and began to speed along it, picking up the pace as he went. Thankfully they were headed in the direction away from the bright white orb, so that this human wouldn't see it—until they were ready for him to, at least.

"So," Mike finally spoke up after a few moments, "where are you guys headed? To some sort of costume convention?"

"Something like that," Zaius said, unsure what else to say.

"Cool. Where is it? I can drop you off."

"Just keep going along this road, we'll point it out to you," Zaius said.

Urko growled softly in the back seat, causing Zaius to glance in his direction. Indeed, the military general wanted to know just how long they were going to keep this charade up. None of them were used to being inside a "car", and none of them had ever gone this fast before. The human seemed good at driving it and controlling it, but that didn't mean they had to feel comfortable.

"Actually," Zaius finally spoke up, "you are going to help us get something we need." He gestured toward Urko.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Mike asked, then his jovial smile vanished when he heard the distinct sound of a rifle cocking. He took his eyes off the road just long enough to glance behind him, to confirm that one of the apes in the back seat had his weapon trained on him.

"Hey!" Mike said, his eyes widening and his breath quickening as he turned his attention back to the road. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Like I said, you are going to help us get something we need," Zaius stated calmly, keeping his eyes trained on the human. "Do this, and you will not be harmed."

"Okay! Man, people always told me it was stupid to pick up strangers on the road… I should have listened!"

"Silence!" Zaius snapped. "Now listen closely. We want to capture a young female of your species."

"Female? Of my species? What, is this some kind of joke?"

"No joke. Just do what you're told, and we will release you afterwards."

"But what if he talks, Zaius?" Urko spoke up.

"Then let him talk," Zaius shrugged. "Once we're back in our time, it won't matter anymore, no one will be able to pursue us."

"Alright man, whatever you say," Mike gulped. "Anyone specific you want?"

"Just a young, healthy female, perhaps around your age," Zaius stated patiently. "The first one we see will do."

"Okay, just don't hurt me! And if you're gonna rape her or something, I don't want to know about it, and you guys never even heard of me! Are we clear?"

Walgo made a noise of disgust.

So did Urko, although he actually voiced his opinion. "This human is a simpering coward and he has disgusting ideas."

"Just be silent and drive," Zaius told Mike sternly. The blond human simply nodded, pressed his lips into a thin line, and focused on the road.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sandra coughed slightly as she paused in her hike, then took a couple of deep breaths. Her throat was acting up a bit and she wondered if she might be catching a cold. She was an asthmatic, although she was able to go out on hikes without much problem, so long as she was careful.

It was a beautiful sunny day, and she simply couldn't resist going out for a hike around the area, especially since it was the beginning of Fall and she knew that the warmer days would be coming to an end soon.

She wore a light jacket that was black, a green sweater and a pair of blue jeans. She had brown hair that had been cut but was almost shoulder-length and brown eyes to match.

"Maybe I should be heading back," she murmured to herself. She had her cell phone in her pocket just in case there was an emergency, but she rarely used it because she was more comfortable with emailing and online chatting than she was with talking on a phone. But, other than her wallet with her ID and some cash, she didn't really have anything with her.

In truth she did want to get back to her home and check her email and whatnot. In some ways, some people might assume she didn't have much of a social life, but she kept in touch with a lot of her friends and family online. That was the way of the 21st century, wasn't it? Everything was computer-related these days.

Still for some reason, she continued to press on for a little while longer, deciding that it wouldn't hurt anything to hike a little further. Part of the reason for the walk, after all, was that she wanted to see some wild animals if she could. So far she hadn't seen much, except for a squirrel or two.

Suddenly, she began to notice something up ahead… something that looked like a bright white light. Curious, if a little frightened, she moved forward slowly and cautiously, then saw a sight that she wasn't sure what to think of.

Up near the road just ahead, there seemed to be a bright white orb that was about ten feet in diameter. She gasped softly at the sight of it, her mouth agape and her eyes widening to their fullest. She was surprised that no one else had seen it or stopped to take a look. Or were other people simply afraid of it?

Slowly and cautiously she crept toward it, allowing her curiosity to get the better of her. Somehow it almost seemed to be calling to her… it seemed to have a hypnotic effect on her; the more she stared into its brilliant aura, the more it seemed to draw her in.

Before she knew it she was practically right on top of it, and found herself stepping through it…

And out of it, into darkness.

It took a few moments for that fact to register in her mind. She blinked several times, then the fact that it was apparently nighttime absorbed into her consciousness. She turned and looked behind her—there was something there that looked like a big doorway, with a white brightness shining valiantly within it. She then let out a small scream as she continued to look about, realizing that not only was it dark, but she was apparently inside some kind of building.

"Okay, whoa, whoa, whoa…" she said, and found herself saying that at least a couple more times. Talking to herself was, to her at least, a good way to focus and to stay calm and alert. She found that she could sometimes stay reasonable if she talked to herself and focused on the sound of her own voice.

Very slowly she began to move away from the chamber where the big doorway was, into a larger part of the building. She continued to look around, unsure where the heck she was or what to make of all this. Had she somehow gotten to Narnia, the childhood fantasy place she'd always dreamed of and wished she could visit when she was a kid?

"Whoa… that would be awesome, but creepy," she murmured to herself, still looking around. She had always prided herself on having quite an imagination, which had stayed with her despite the fact that she wanted to believe it had mellowed now that she was in her early twenties. She could almost envision herself standing in the ruins of Cair Paravel, although the rational part of her mind told her that that was a bit far-fetched.

Still… so was walking into a bright light, in broad daylight, in the middle of an area full of trees and grass beside a road, only to wind up inside a large building in the dark. Was she somehow dreaming? Had she been abducted by aliens? Her mind was racing now, and she somehow felt a mixture of fear and excitement as she continued to think about the possibilities.

She was a fairly level-headed individual, but she also had quite an imagination and she had read and seen far too much science fiction. Still, she did dismiss most of the thoughts and notions as they came to her as simply being ridiculous and the results of fantasy. She finally concluded that this must be some sort of dream.

And if that was the case… then it didn't matter what she did. But perhaps she should make the most of it while it lasted, and hopefully she woke up before it turned into a nightmare.

She glanced back toward the mysterious doorway with the white light, in case she needed to head back that way for any reason. It was still there, glowing brightly, so she pressed onward in the opposite direction. Maybe if she got outside of the building, she could see what was there and possibly figure out where she was.

It wasn't too difficult to navigate out through the ruins of the building and to find the front entrance, but once she was outside she saw a sight that made her stop dead in her tracks. There seemed to be several dark-skinned figures out there tending to horses, and they were… what, wearing furry hats?

She squinted and slowly moved forward, trying to get a better look. From what she could see, they looked like people, mainly due to the fact that they were wearing clothes. But something about them seemed a bit odd… especially their faces. They looked kind of ugly… almost like…

What? Dogs? No they didn't quite look like dogs. More like… what was it? Apes? Monkeys?

As she started to get a little closer, she made a bit of noise with her foot on the ground, unintentionally. One of the ape-men glanced in her direction, then made a sound and aimed what appeared to be a rifle in her direction. The gun went off, blasting away at the dirt just off to her right, missing her by a few feet.

She yelped, then turned and nearly tripped over her own feet as she broke into a run, moving away from the ape-men. She thought she heard one of them shout "Get away from here, human!" as she went.

She kept running until she came to a clump of bushes, which she ducked into. She then pressed herself flat against the ground underneath them, putting her head down and wrapping her arms around it, trying to mute the sound of her breathing as she panted for oxygen. Frankly, having asthma did not help if you needed to move in a hurry, although she felt that an adrenaline rush had probably assisted her quite a bit.

Once she caught her breath she stayed completely still for several minutes, wanting to make sure no one was coming after her. She then rolled over onto her side and took her cell phone from her pocket. She had never had any reason to call the police before, but… maybe in this case, well… maybe it was necessary. Besides, there was a first time for everything, and they couldn't have those people dressed like apes or whatever shooting at people!

She turned on her cell phone, then blinked when it said "no service available". Well, either she was out of range, or maybe this was proof that she was in Narnia now, or somewhere.

Or maybe there was a good chance she was dreaming. In either case, she didn't want to risk going back to that doorway or whatever it was, not until she was sure those weird apes were gone.

So she simply curled up into a ball, making sure she was nestled safely out of sight under the bushes. Then, using her own arms as a pillow, she settled down as comfortably as she could on the ground, and closed her eyes. Then maybe… when she woke up, she would find herself back in her bedroom. Or if this was somehow real, maybe she could sneak back to that building where the mysterious white light in that weird doorway was.


	3. Chapter 3

Mike's mind raced as he continued to drive the car along the road, trying to figure out what to do. On the one hand he certainly didn't want to get shot, but he didn't want to help participate in a crime either. There was no telling what these thugs planned to do with a girl if they managed to get their hands on one.

Oh yes, this was all quite clever, Mike realized. These thugs had disguised themselves in fancy Halloween costumes, tricked the sucker for hard luck cases into picking them up, and now they were forcing him to aide in kidnapping. He made a silent vow to himself that if he got out of this alive, he would never pick up strangers on the side of the road ever again, no matter how interesting or even pathetic they might look.

Not that these three people looked even remotely pathetic…

"I am getting weary of this," Urko, the one with the rifle, said at one point. "Where is this area where we can pick up a female?"

"I don't see why we can't just take him," Walgo spoke up, and Mike felt a shiver go up and down his spine, especially since he could feel the dude's finger pointing at his back.

"Human females are far easier to keep under control, and more easily frightened," Zaius replied. "However," he added almost as an afterthought, touching his chin as he spoke, "it might behoove us to take this human and one of the females."

"What!" Mike said, ripping his eyes off of the road long enough to glare at the ape in the seat next to him. "You are NOT taking me anywhere! I'm only helping you guys out with this insanity so I can go free! I don't know what you're going to do with this girl but I don't want it happening to me!"

"Silence, human," Urko snapped, raising his rifle a little higher. "You have no say in the matter."

"I think I should have some say!" Mike cried. "I'm the one driving, after all!"

"Just do as we say, and you will not be harmed," Zaius told him quietly. "Bring us to a place where we can secure a human female, and… maybe we will let you go."

Mike swallowed but said nothing. Sure, he did feel bad for whatever was going to happen to some girl, but… if there was some chance that he would simply be allowed to go free, he wasn't going to mess it up. Maybe he could do something afterwards once he got away, even if he just called the police or something.

"There's a place up ahead," the blond human finally gulped. "We can park up there, I can get out of the car, and maybe… I can try and strike up a date with someone. I can trick a girl into getting into the car with me."

"Alright, but remember if you try to run, I will let Urko shook you," Zaius warned.

Mike nodded slowly, not looking at any of the weird ape-dudes. In truth he had no intention of running, because he didn't want to run the risk of them stealing his car or something, either.

"Can we really trust him?" Urko asked.

"I will go with him when he gets out of this car," Zaius replied. "You two will stay in here, and keep your rifles at the ready."

Mike tensed. Oh wonderful, these guys really thought of everything, didn't they?

A few minutes later, Mike pulled the car into a parking lot at one of the local shopping complexes. There were plenty of other cars parked there, and no one took any notice of just another car entering one of the empty parking spaces.

"This place is crowded," Walgo commented.

"What exactly do you plan to do?" Zaius asked, looking at the human with a wary eye.

"I'm going to get out, find a girl, and try to bring her in here as quietly as possible," Mike replied, then gulped. Yeah, that made it sound so dang simple. But he was actually going to aide in kidnapping.

Zaius was silent for a moment, glancing at his two ape-men companions. Then he finally said, "Sounds like the best plan available… let's do it, carefully."

With that, Mike very slowly opened his car door, while Zaius opened his own door. The two of them stepped out. Zaius received a few stares from some of the passersby, and a few people pointed in their direction, but no one approached or said anything. They probably assumed that Zaius was a human wearing a costume, just like Mike had.

Mike glanced around, surveying the area as quickly as he could. He then spotted a sign that said "security cameras in use" up on one of the light poles in the middle of the parking lot. He smiled slightly, though tried to keep his face straight. Maybe if he stalled long enough, one of the cameras might be able to pick up on his license plate number, and it might even spot him kidnapping a girl. Then, with luck, maybe the police could pursue them as they made their getaway, and with luck, perhaps he could get out of this without any blame being placed on him.

Zaius was giving Mike an impatient look, so the human decided he couldn't stall for too long. He slowly began to move forward, looking around the parking lot. That was when he noticed a young red-haired woman, who was probably in her late teens or early twenties. Mike noticed that she was quite good-looking, and felt a pang of regret. Under different circumstances, he may have truly wanted to ask her out.

He casually strolled in her direction, stuffing his hands into his pockets, fully aware that Zaius was following behind him and that Urko was no doubt watching the entire scene from the car. Mike swallowed, wishing there was something he could do. But he didn't know what these men were capable of. For all he knew, Zaius might have a knife or a gun concealed somewhere in that monkey suit of his.

"Hey there," Mike said casually as he approached the young lady.

The red-head glanced up, having just finished putting her purchases into the trunk of her car. "Hey," she said, looking at him. "What's with your friend over there?" she asked, indicating Zaius behind him. "You guys part of a costume convention or something?"

"Uh, yeah, sorta," Mike said, and cleared his throat. Man, that girl was gorgeous. She wore her hair in a loose ponytail, mostly allowing it to flow down her shoulders and back. Her skirt gave a full view of her slender, long legs and her outfit showed off her curves tastefully. "In fact, my friend and I would really like to show you something, at my car."

"Show me something?" the girl said, cocking her head to one side. She looked a bit skeptical, yet curious at the same time. "Like what?"

"A cool kind of costume, one that might fit you," Mike said, feeling his voice catch in his throat. Part of him hoped that she would get suspicious and say no, so that he wouldn't have to do this. But another part of him figured that Zaius might simply tell him to grab her anyway if she did. "It was my sister's, but she changed her mind. I don't want it to go to waste. Maybe you could wear it at our costume party."

"Oh yeah?" the girl chuckled. "Well, that depends… what kind of a costume is it? I don't really go for witchy things or princess things though, just to let you know. I like something unique."

"Oh it's unique alright, it's actually, um, a costume a lot like this," Mike lied, pointing a thumb in Zaius's direction and hating himself all the more for this. Actually he couldn't tell who he hated more at the moment, these weird ape-dudes or himself.

"Really?" The girl seemed to brighten a bit at the idea. "Well I suppose it wouldn't hurt to take a look," she shrugged.

"Good, come right this way," Mike replied. Once he turned his back on her and began to lead her toward his car, he allowed himself to grimace. So this was it, he was officially tricking her into being kidnapped. Welcome to the day in the life of a brand new criminal…

Once they were at the car, one of the back doors opened and Urko reached out, grabbing her roughly by the arms as he moved out of the car. She started to cry out, startled and alarmed, but the gorilla put a hand over her mouth. "Quiet, and you won't be harmed," he growled at her, then shoved her forcefully into the back seat beside Walgo, who held onto her as Urko got back in.

Soon, everyone was seated inside the car again. Urko and Walgo sat in the back with the girl between them, Zaius was in the front passenger seat and Mike was back in the driver's seat, pulling out of the parking lot as quickly as he could.

"What the hell are you people doing?" the girl demanded loudly.

"Silence!" Urko snapped before she could say anything else, raising his rifle indicatively.

The girl gasped and then whimpered at the sight of it, biting her lower lip. She was frightened, but knew better than to say anything or protest too much.

"Take us back in the direction where you first found us," Zaius ordered the blond human male, who nodded meekly and proceeded to do what he was told.

The red-haired woman couldn't believe she had been tricked, although she figured that she should have suspected something. It's not every day that someone walks up to you saying they want you to come look at a costume in their car. How could she have been so stupid?

"W-what are you gonna do with me?" she finally mustered up the courage to ask, even if she didn't feel like she wanted to know.

Zaius glanced in her direction then gave her a simply reply that made little sense to her: "You're going to help us prevent destruction to our world."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Sandra awoke with a sneeze. She sniffled, then wondered if she was catching a cold out here. The air did have a slight chill to it, although it wasn't too bad. Then again, perhaps it was simply allergies; she often had the sniffles during the Summertime for that reason, even if it was supposed to be Fall now.

It was still dark, although the simple fact that she had awoken underneath the bushes, where she last remembered being, told her that none of this had been a dream. Apparently it was real, although this still didn't make any sense.

Part of her wondered if she should try going back in the direction of the building, to try getting back through the weird doorway or portal or whatever the heck it was. But she chose to stay put, simply because she was afraid. She didn't want those weird people shooting at her again. Maybe if she could bear to stay right here in this spot until morning, they would be gone by then.

With that in mind she rolled over, trying to get into a more comfortable position. She then lay her head against her arms, although it took her a while to get back to sleep. She knew it wouldn't be long before people began to worry about her and wonder where she was.

And how the hell was she going to explain all this to them? They would think she was crazy!

But of course, the first thing to worry about was just getting back home. She could worry about the other things once she was safely back. And hopefully, that would be in the morning…

0o0o0o0o0o0

When they were about half-way back to the point where Mike had first encountered the weird ape-men, they heard sirens behind them. Mike glanced into the rearview mirror, both relieved and horrified to see that there was a police car after them. Apparently the kidnapping had been witnessed after all.

The three weirdo's didn't seem to know what it was about at first, but when Mike said that it was the police after them for kidnapping the girl, Zaius demanded that they go faster. And since Urko and Walgo still had their guns, Mike felt he had no choice but to obey.

It wasn't too long before they got to the point where Mike had originally picked up the trio, but he was baffled when they told him to keep on going past that point. "Look for a giant white light," Zaius told him simply.

Mike didn't have a darn clue what he was talking about, but didn't have any choice but to obey. So he continued driving, picking up a little bit more speed, until he saw a sight that made him gasp.

Indeed there was a big bright, white light just up ahead, like nothing he had ever seen before. It was sitting there in broad daylight, a bright white aura that seemed to be emanating from nothing, as if it had formed from the air itself.

"Take us into it!" Zaius shouted. The police car was getting closer.

Mike did as he was told, figuring he had nothing to lose at this point. Perhaps in mere moments he would be standing before the throne of God in all His glory, being told what a bad boy he had been by kidnapping the girl.

The car went right through the vast brightness, momentarily engulfed by it. For a few seconds, Mike actually wondered if he had somehow entered the realm of Heaven itself, but then the car was suddenly… inside a dark building?

A slap on the shoulder and a shout from Zaius quickly got him out of his startled daze, enabling him to snap back into reality—whatever that was right now—and hit the brakes before they ran into one of the walls. Nevertheless, since they had been going so fast, the car skidded even as the brake systems attempted to slow it down, filling the air with a terrible burning smell and then the car still ended up hitting the wall. But since they had been in the process of slowing down, it only dented the front a bit. Everyone was safe and okay inside.

Everyone sat completely still for a few seconds. Walgo took a few moments to remember how to breathe.

Finally, Zaius flung the car door open and rushed back toward the time portal, wanting to shut it down before the police—or anyone else—could come through. However he needn't have worried, because it had already shut itself down. It was an automatic function, apparently, for when time-travelers returned through it. Either that, or transporting and entire car containing two humans and three apes and taken more energy than they thought it would.

"Alright," Zaius said to the others after the got back to the car, "now that our mission here is accomplished, we're going to set explosives on the car, and on that time-portal thing, and destroy them both. Then we'll take these two humans back with us."

Urko and Walgo nodded, though before they did anything else they tied up the two humans in ropes so that they couldn't get away. Not only where they a couple of valuable prizes, they would also be very dangerous if they got away; they could contaminate the other humans.

Once the two humans were secured, Urko went outside and gave the order to his gorillas to bring in the explosives. It was time to get rid of the car and the time portal.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Sandra was awakened a second time by the sound of an explosion going off somewhere in the near distance. She flinched as she awoke, momentarily wondering if she had dreamt of the sound.

After a few moments, she worked up enough courage to go and check it out.

With some difficulty—since she sometimes tended to have a poor sense of direction—she managed to find her way back to the old building that she had been chased away from earlier. She got there just in time to see the weird ape-men mounting up on their horses and then riding off, thankfully in the direction away from her. None of them saw her.

Once she was certain they were gone and not coming back, she slowly crept into the building and made her way carefully toward the back where the chamber with the weird doorway was located.

The first thing she noticed inside the building was some smoking, smoldering remains of what looked like molten metal, as if something large and metallic had been blown up, something that had had a lot of components. There was also a terrible smell in the air, but she ignored it and pressed on.

When she made her way back to the chamber where the mysterious doorway was, she was stunned to see that it was no longer there. It looked to be completely destroyed, and parts of the walls and ceiling had also caved in around it and on top of it. It was dark within the building, but she was able to see a little due to the moonlight shining through a large hole in the ceiling, plus her sense of touch told her all she needed to know as well. Apparently… this was the result of that explosion she'd heard.

There was no doubt about it. She wasn't going home.

So what in the world was she supposed to do now?


	4. Chapter 4

By the time Galen, Alan and Peter reached the ancient ruins of a long-forgotten city—one which Galen had explained was considered off-limits to everyone, except those who had special permission to be there—Urko, Zaius, and everyone in their party was long gone. In fact, the trio arrived never even knowing that they had been there.

But what the three wanderers did happen to spot was a young woman who appeared to be in her early twenties wandering about aimlessly. She had the look of someone who was confused as if she was lost and unsure where she was going, but she also looked frustrated or angry.

"Hey there," Pete was the first to call out. It was his nature to be the most outspoken member of their little group, at least in some cases.

The girl's head snapped up, starting a bit at the sound of his voice. She apparently had not noticed them at all. "Oh," she said, sounding surprised and annoyed. She had the look of someone who didn't like being taken by surprise. "Hi there," she said, looking and sounding a bit wary.

Sandra regarded the three strangers coming toward her for a moment, wondering if she should just keep moving or try talking to them. At least they weren't threatening her, and they seemed like the first friendly faces she'd seen since coming through that weird doorway or whatever it had been.

The first thing she noticed was that one of them had blond hair, and appeared to be a bit older than the one who'd spoken to her. She happened to glance down at the blond man's left hand as the sunlight caught a gold band on his ring finger just right in order to reflect off of it. She made a mental note that that man was married, then shoved it out of her mind. She then glanced toward the black-haired man, and then at the odd person who seemed to be dressed like a monkey.

"Hey, what's your name?" the black-haired man asked. He had a friendly face, although Sandra still felt wary. She had no reason to trust strangers in this bizarre place where she had been shot at just a day ago.

"Sandra," she said cautiously, refusing to drop her last name. She figured there was no harm in introducing her first name, at least. "And you…?"

"I'm Pete, this is Alan, and this is Galen," the dark-haired man stated, indicating each individual as he said their names. "We're just passing through here."

"Yeah, is there anyone else here?" the blond man named Alan asked.

Sandra slowly shook her head, still eyeing the three strangers carefully. "There was, but they're gone now. I'm glad that they're gone."

"Who was here?" the monkey-man spoke up.

"I don't know who they were," Sandra said, shifting her weight just a little. "They looked like apes or whatever, they had horses, and guns. They shot at me."

"Shot at you?" Alan said, and they looked at her with concern.

"Why did they shoot at you?" Pete asked, taking a step toward her.

Sandra hastily took a step back. Pete froze, then held up a hand as if he didn't want to scare her. "It's okay," he told her gently as she took another two steps back. "We won't hurt you. Why did those apes shoot at you?"

"I don't know," Sandra said. "I came out of that building right over there," she went on, pointing toward the large building nearby, the very one that she had been in and out of more times than she could count, trying to figure out where she was and how to get back home with no avail. She was sick of looking at it, and had been about to take her chances and move on when these three had walked up to her. "They shot at me and told me to stay away or get out of here or whatever."

Alan and Pete exchanged glances. "Any idea what's in there?" Alan spoke up.

"Yeah, there was a doorway in there, a very strange one that I came through," Sandra said, trying to choose her words carefully. "They blew it up, and now I can't get back home." She stopped talking, knowing that if she said any more, they might think she was crazy.

"Hmm, might be worth checking out," Alan murmured. "Just to see why they would want to blow it up."

"I will admit I am curious as well," Galen acknowledged.

"Will you show us?" Pete asked the young woman.

"Yeah sure, I guess," Sandra said with a shrug. It wasn't like she had much else to do at the moment.

She led the way into the building, feeling a bit conspicuous at being followed. She did not like walking with three strangers trailing along behind her. They passed through the hallway where it seemed that some sort of large… device had been blown up. The very sight of it made Pete and Alan pause and look it over.

"If I didn't know any better… I'd say that this had been some sort of vehicle," Alan said.

"Sure looks like it," Pete acknowledged.

Galen looked on in mild curiosity but didn't really comment much. Finally, once Alan and Pete were finished looking over the remains of whatever had been there, they followed Sandra to the other end of the building, where the mysterious doorway had been.

The destroyed wreckage of what had been there didn't really give the humans much to look at, but Alan and Pete did deduce that it had apparently been some sort of machine, and a very sophisticated one.

Finally, after they had done some poking and prodding around the remains, Pete glanced toward Sandra—who was standing just outside the chamber where the portal's remains were located—and asked, "You said you came out of this, as if it was some sort of doorway?"

Sandra nodded. "Yeah," she spoke up, daring to reveal a little more. "I was on the other side of that door, and it was broad daylight, near a road. I walked into a bright light, and came out here… when it was nighttime here. I'd say it was last night, here, even though it was daylight on the other side, where I was."

Alan and Pete exchanged glances.

"That doesn't make any sense," Galen was the first to say. "Even if there had been some sort of door frame there, there is nothing else in there except for solid walls!"

"I know, it doesn't make sense," Alan said. He then turned to look at Sandra. "Where exactly do you come from? Tell us about it."

"Uh… I come from New Hampshire," she said slowly. "Isn't that where we are?"

"Not even close," Alan replied, narrowing his eyes in puzzlement. "Hey, you said that there had been apes here. They took a shot at you when they saw you, to chase you away?"

"Yes."

"Maybe they could have been experimenting with this, or using it somehow… then they blew it up," Alan reasoned slowly, looking thoughtful. "They were guarding it. Sandra, did they see you come through it at all?"

"No, they were outside near the entrance. Looked like they were taking care of their horses."

"Alright, we may be getting somewhere."

"This still doesn't make any sense," Galen said, shaking his head. "How could it have been daylight where she had been, then she stepped into nighttime when she came through this doorway?" He made a scoffing noise, shaking his head, then locking his dark brown eyes on the woman. "Excuse me, Sandra, but just where do you come from?"

"I told you," Sandra said a bit impatiently. She did not like repeating herself. "New Hampshire. If you don't believe me…" Her hand slipped into her pocket and pulled out her wallet. She opened it up and revealed her ID.

"Wait, could I see that for a moment, please?" Alan asked with a strange eagerness. Although he did seem to have an odd look in his eyes ever since she'd mentioned New Hampshire by name.

"Uh, sure," Sandra said with a shrug. Something about the look in his eyes made it hard to say no. She cautiously handed the wallet over, reminding herself that there wasn't anything too valuable in it anyway. Only her ID and a few dollars.

"My God," Alan murmured after a moment of staring at the ID. Pete queried what it was, then looked over Alan's shoulder to see it, too. Galen's questioning looks went ignored as Alan slipped his fingers into the wallet, pulling out the dollar bills. Sandra tensed and glared a little, thinking that it was rather rude for him to take her money out of her wallet, but she said nothing.

"Pete, do you see this?" Alan asked, handing a couple of the dollars over to his dark-haired friend.

"Cash," Pete acknowledged, fingering the one-dollar-bill he'd just been handed and turning it over. "Yeah, it's a crisp dollar bill."

After a few moments, Alan took back the dollar bill and put all of the money back into the wallet. He then folded it, attaching the Velcro and handed it back to Sandra, who gratefully took it and put it back in her pocket.

"You guys are strange," she found herself saying before anyone else could speak. "It's like you haven't seen money for a long time, yet you just gave it back to me."

"We haven't seen money for a while," Pete spoke up.

"Tell me, what year is it?" Alan asked her, looking at her intently.

"What year is it?" Sandra repeated in disbelief. "It's 2009… is this some kind of joke?"

"2009?" Pete spoke up, startled. "Alan, that's like twenty-nine years after we left Earth! She's from our future but still from the past!"

"I know," Alan said. "If what she's saying is true, it seems that way."

Sandra looked at everyone as if they'd lost their minds. Galen, who had remained silent most of this time—perhaps because he didn't know what to say—was now looking quite confused himself.

Over the next two hours or so, everything was a flurry of puzzlement, questions, and answers that lead to more questions on both sides. During that time, Sandra recounted everything she could remember at least three times, in order to make sure she answered all their questions and didn't leave out any details, and to remember any details she may have forgotten during the first recap. She hoped that this would satisfy them, since they seemed so dang persistent and wanted to know all about it, and she hoped that they could somehow help her if she told them.

In the end though, they only had a few speculations and theories—that perhaps the doorway had been some sort of time portal, created by an ancient civilization, and now unfortunately it was completely useless and un-repairable, thanks to the apes. And thus, Sandra was now stuck with them.

That was not something that Sandra wanted to hear, although part of her had known for some time that it was probably true. Still, the prospect that she was somewhere in the distant future—the year 3085 or so—awed her and frightened her. Part of her refused to believe it could be true at all.

By this point, all of them were feeling quite thirsty from having talked so much, especially inside this large, dusty building. Sandra then lead them all outside to an area where she'd found some edible fruit, feeling at least comfortable enough to hang around with them and eat with them. The fruit—which Galen said was something called Opar—was picked and devoured by the four of them. One good thing about fruit, especially juicy fruit, was that it could quench both thirst and hunger all at once.

"So," Sandra said after she finished her second Opar and began to munch on her third, "what were you guys saying, about this being the future? I mean… uh, I do have to admit something weird happened to me, and I'm not where I used to be. But uh… well where am I?"

"We think we're somewhere near where California used to be," Alan spoke up, having just finished his third Opar. He turned his head slightly to lick some of the juice off his fingers in a less conspicuous manner, then looked back in her direction. "Like we said, this is the year 3085."

"Yeah, okay," Sandra said in a skeptical tone. She was still trying to absorb all of this, and to figure out if she really believed it. "So… what about you guys? You live here?"

Then, over the next few minutes, they ended up telling her everything. Sandra found it a bit refreshing to be the one listening instead of the one talking and answering all the questions, but the more she heard, the more baffled and skeptical she became.

"So let me get this straight," she finally said when they finished, "in a nutshell, you two are astronauts who went through some sort of time warp, and crashed back here, on Earth, in the year 3085. Then you found out the hard way that this planet is ruled by…"

Her eyes darted toward Galen, who returned her gaze evenly. "By… apes. And then," her eyes darted back toward Alan and Pete, "um… you guys were arrested for being humans who knew too much, but you helped Galen realize that humans are just as intelligent as apes are, and because of that, Galen here is an outlaw now, too."

"That's essentially it," Pete nodded.

Sandra glanced at each of her companions carefully, looking at Galen last. She stared into his chimp face, looking at his features, his fur, his eyes, his clothing, his hands… then she burst out laughing.

"What is so funny, may I ask?" Galen queried, looking somewhat annoyed and curious at the same time.

"You all have got to be kidding me," Sandra managed, regaining control of herself. Once she stopped laughing entirely, she cleared her throat. "Come on, everybody knows apes are just animals."

"We are not," Galen told her. "If I'm just an animal, how is it that I can talk?"

"You're not a real ape," Sandra replied, shaking her head at him. "You're just a man in a costume!"

"What is a costume?"

Pete spoke up. "A costume is, well, a form of dress that can make you look like other creatures in some cases. She thinks you're a human dressed to look like an ape."

"Well I certainly am not!" Galen exclaimed, sounding indignant. "Look, Sandra, I am an ape. And I know for a fact that apes have ruled for at least a few hundred years."

"You are crazy—that is crazy!" Sandra insisted, looking at them like they'd each grown a second head. She also looked like she was waiting for any one of them to tell her that this was all just a joke.

"Sandra, we're telling you the truth," Alan said gently but firmly. They had all finished eating by this point, and a few remaining Opars lay on the ground, completely forgotten. "We don't know how yet, but mankind destroyed itself, and then the apes took over."

"Yeah so you've said," Sandra scoffed. "So mankind destroyed the world, then the apes took over, and humans are viewed as slaves, an inferior life form." She shook her head. "I still don't believe it!"

"Then how do you account for me, and those apes that shot at you last night?" Galen asked her.

"This could be some sort of weird prank or something, though I don't know how I got dragged into it," Sandra said, shaking her head. "I refuse to believe that the world destroyed itself and that apes are really intelligent people that took over! I mean… come on you guys, do you think I'm stupid or something?"

"No one is saying you're stupid," Pete spoke up. "But it would be foolish to deny what is right in front of you, Sandra."

"I don't believe any of this." Sandra stood up quite suddenly, stamping her foot as she did so. "I think you three are liars, and all of this is just ridiculous!"

"Alright," Alan said, then stood. He held his hands up to silence any protests or arguments that Pete and Galen were prepared to give. "Sandra, I can understand that some things you're just going to have to see for yourself before you can believe," the blond man went on slowly. "But I would like you to stay with us, for your own protection."

"Do you have a house, or somewhere to go?" Sandra asked, eyeing him warily.

"No, we're on the move a lot—"

"Oh yeah," Sandra huffed, "that's right, because you're outlaws on the run. Well…" She shook her head, then raised her arms in what was sort of a shrug as well as a gesture of exasperation. "Frankly, I'm tired of talking about all this. I don't want to believe a word you guys have said… because I can't. It sounds like complete nonsense to me. But… I don't know where to go."

"You could come with us," Pete suggested, his tone sounding welcome and hopeful.

"Well if I'm really stuck in the year 3085… I guess I don't really know anybody here," Sandra said, making another odd shrugging gesture. "So I guess, um… you guys are the closet things to friends I have. Sorta."

"You don't sound very sure about that," Galen said, still watching her closely.

"Should I be, monkey-man?" Sandra retorted.

"Hey now," Alan spoke up, "I have an idea. Galen, Sandra, if you are both willing… I think I know something that might be able to prove that our ape friend here is a real ape."

"Oh?" Galen asked.

"Like what?" Sandra asked, placing her hands on her hips and tilting her head skeptically.

"Galen, would you permit her to touch you?" Alan asked his friend. "So that she can see your hair and skin are real, not just a costume."

"Hmm," Galen mewed, glancing at the girl. "Alright."

Alan nodded approvingly. "Okay Sandra, go ahead and touch him."

With that, Galen held out his hand toward the human woman, who simply stared down at it for a moment. She didn't make any move right away.

"What's the matter?" Pete asked. "Afraid you'll find out he's really an ape?"

Sandra said nothing, though she did fire him a look that seemed to suggest, "Shut up." Then very slowly, she reached over and placed her hand on Galen's palm, feeling the fur on his wrist and tracing the coarse skin across his hand down to his fingertips. She then gripped his palm and gave it a squeeze. Galen gave her hand a gentle squeeze in return, then released her, however she did not withdraw her hand.

"Well, what do you think?" Galen asked her. Alan and Pete both remained silent, even though they were watching closely. Perhaps they wanted to allow this to be completely between the ape and the skeptical human woman.

"I don't know," Sandra said. She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something else, then closed it.

"What is it?" the chimpanzee asked. "Go ahead, speak your mind," he added when she continued to hesitate.

"I wonder if I could touch your face, to make sure it's not a mask that will come off," Sandra finally said.

"I have given you permission to touch me," Galen told her. "You may go ahead and touch my face." Then, as if still sensing some hesitancy, he took a couple of steps closer and leaned toward her just a little.

Sandra raised her hands and slowly began to touch his face. Indeed, his skin had the same feel and texture as that on his hands, and so did the fur. His skin and hair felt just like real hair and skin, that much she couldn't deny. It even felt warm to the touch, as if she was fingering real flesh.

Then without warning, she pressed her fingers into his cheeks and then shoved her thumbs into his nostrils, then dug her nails into his face. Galen yelped just a little in surprise and discomfort, pulling back and shoving her hands away.

"I said you could touch my face, not claw me or try to rip it off!" Galen snipped, fingering his nose and cheeks self-consciously.

"Sorry… I had to make sure it wasn't a mask," Sandra said. In some ways she wasn't sorry, because she felt she had simply done what she needed to do. But she was sorry that she had caused him pain. "You okay?" she finally asked.

"Ah yes, I will be fine… at least you didn't draw any blood."

Sandra scowled. "I'm not that mean."

"Alright, are you convinced yet?" Alan asked.

To everyone's bewilderment, Sandra made no answer. She simply turned her back on them and took a few steps away, then stopped. She folded her hands in front of her and stared down at the ground in front of her for a few moments.

Finally she said quite simply, "I want some time alone, to think about all this."

"Look, Sandra—" Pete started, but she cut him off.

"Just leave me alone!" she snapped, clenching her fists and whirling around to face him. "You guys tell me all this stuff and just want me to accept it, just like that? It's not that easy! I want some time to think! Just leave me alone."

"Sandra, if you don't want to believe us—"

She growled, holding up a hand to cut him off. "Let me finish! I'm not saying yet if I believe or disbelieve you. I just want some time to think. I want to be alone. To sort this out. Is that so much to ask?"

"You're not going to go off by yourself are you?" Pete asked. "If you go off too far, there's no telling what might happen to you."

Sandra sighed impatiently. "I'm not going to wander off. Where would I go? Look, I want maybe just an hour or two along. I want time to myself, to think." She glared at them. "I'm sorry, but at the risk of sounding rude… JUST LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS!" Then, before anyone could say anything else, she turned and rushed away.

"Let her go," Alan spoke up, before anyone could get any ideas of following her. "I don't think she'll go too far… she just needs to sort this out."

"You think she'll be okay?" Pete murmured out loud, watching her as she continued to move away. She had slowed to a walk but kept going, although she did glance over her shoulder in their direction a couple of times, until she finally moved out of sight.

"I hope so," Alan replied.

"For her sake, I do hope she will come to accept the truth," Galen said, shaking his head. "I do find it a bit irritating though, that she refuses to acknowledge what is right in front of her!"

"Well, sometimes the truth is a hard thing to accept or realize," Alan said, nodding indicatively at his ape friend. "You have a hard time realizing it at first."

Galen nodded, then sighed. "Yes I know. I just hope she will come to accept it before it's too late."


End file.
